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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Whoooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooo!So very excited!I think today is the first day it has actually sunk in for me. And now I am very excited/nervous for the wedding! More excited than nervous though. Not even sure why I am nervous....

Although I truly feel not a whole lot will change, the reality of it is EVERYTHING will change!No more living alone and doing what I want, when I want. I'll have to share my bed, share the remote control, share Wyatt's attention (LOL!!!), share the driveway.... I'll be sharing everything!Wyatt will have to share his yard space with Jake. He'll get over it.

Of course, all the good will outweigh all the changes. It will be so nice having someone to talk to when I get home from work and before I go to bed. As well as all the time in between. It will be fun having someone to eat meals with and go to the gym with. It will be nice having someone else mow the yard.

Today, after work, I have been running around getting everything done like a chicken with my head cut off. While at work I made a list so I am trying to check off as many items as possible today so I don't have too much to do over the next few days. I figure the more I do today, the more I can enjoy the rest of the days leading up to the wedding. I hope I am not forgetting anything on my end. I keep double checking things as I go along. Amazing I have time to blog don't you think?I penciled it in on my to do list. I am actually taking a break before I go outside to mow the yard.

I was very close to having a heart attack this afternoon! Okay, yes, I am being a bit dramatic. It was an awful experience though!Yesterday I got all my wedding conformation documents from the place we are getting married at and I noticed it didn't have the room I booked on there. I emailed the lady back asking about it and didn't receive a response. I assumed she was busy and that I would have my response sometime this morning. Still no response. Finally after lunch I decided to call her. I left a voicemail as well as resent my email from yesterday in case she didn't receive it. A few minutes later I decided to call again and just speak to the front desk. I was told the computer system was down. She took my name and number and said she would call me back. An hour later I still hadn't heard from her so I called again. This time a man answered and told me the same thing about the computer system being down.I was going to call after waiting another 30 minutes, but while waiting I talked to my mom and told her I was worried.Long story short, she called them and found out the computer system was working again. They transferred her to the lady who is handling my reservation and learned that although I did put a credit card down, my reservation was never confirmed. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clearly 100% my fault!Thankfully, they somehow got me what I had booked even though they were sold out. I don't know how, but I am so happy they did! Once I am married I will be sure to give them a shout out on here. A shout out for EXCELLENT customer service even when the customer is at fault.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I meant to post this much sooner being as I had done all of this stuff last week, but my mom and I have been trying to get everything done for the wedding so I haven't really gotten online over the last few days. Maybe I will catch up with everything before the wedding. I say this even though you shouldn't believe me. :)

Not only did I make (I am stretching the word 'make', huh?) personalized bubbles and big Hershey kisses, I also made customized water bottles.

*Insert 'OOOHHH's' and 'AHHHH's'*

I bought large labels from Vistaprint and used those to go around my bottles. They don't go all the way around - you get the idea though.

I had bought Target's bottled water to replace those labels with my wedding labels, but the Target labels left a long sticky residue mark that couldn't be completely covered by my wedding labels which would have meant I would have had to remove the residue first.Was not happening!That would have taken WAY too long! I wanted this to be a quick project!I wasn't even factoring in how lazy I am when it comes to doing boring things. And I can assure you, that would have been boring even with the TV on!

I ended up doing what anyone in my position would do....Yep, I went to Wal-Mart.Even though I loathe Wal-Mart, I decided to go buy their brand of bottled water since I know those labels are very thin and would be easy to cover.

I was right.I removed all the Wal-Mart labels and added my wedding ones - very easy and quick to do.Took less than 30 minutes WHILE I was watching TV. Works for me!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Now that I have received my last Vistaprint order, I am able to start putting together our wedding favors. We are on a tight budget and no matter how hard I try not to spend more money on the wedding, it seems I can't stop. Thankfully, Vistaprint is not very expensive which equates to me buying a bunch of items for a decent amount of money. At this point, I have ordered several times (and have played more with there website) so I have learned how to be more creative with what they are offering.

I bought bubbles for our wedding.Boring looking bubbles.

The pack of 36 cyclinder shaped ones I bought at Hobby Lobby when all wedding accessories were half off ($5 on sale) and the bell shaped ones my boss gave me for free (leftovers from her daughter's wedding).

I decided to order stickers to dress them up a bit. I used address labels for the cylinders and envelope stickers for the bells. I plan on buying some thin purple ribbon to dress them up even more.See the difference when I put them side by side?

They look so much better and more personalized now! Customized, when possible, is always better in my opinion. Now I just need to buy ribbon and they will be completely done.

I bought all sorts of envelope stickers to use on the bottoms of these plastic Hershey Kisses we bought when they were 90% off after Easter at Target.

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I want to put a little note with a saying on these.... just don't know what to put...

The ribbon on them says, "Kisses for you" - I was thinking the note could say something along the lines of "We, the Last names, shared a kiss with each other, now here's one for you".

Too corny?

Any thoughts?

While I was busy trying to make sure everything was straight (they all are not), this little guy went from giving me the stink eye,

to sleeping.

And then continued to alternate while I was hard at work. He acted like I was being too loud and keeping him awake! What nerve!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Yesterday I was having a good day. I WAS.As in past tense.As in I was having a good day and then it took a turn for the worse.I'll break it down for you.

I went to work - started the day off like any other normal day. I did take a half day off in order to run some wedding related errands. Went home, took Wyatt outside, brought in my packages, checked the mail, opened my packages, ate, grabbed my dress, got in the car, went to Victoria's Secret, went to get my dress altered, shopped at 2 Target's, shopped at Michael's, shopped at the teacher Store, picked up Chick-Fila, went to an appointment, went home, unloaded the car, changed, took Wyatt out, went in the garage, and started spray painting.

This is when it happened.My day went from good to bad.Any guesses?Please know by me telling you this I am admitting I am not anywhere near perfect. (Of course, you should have already known that!)Not even close.In fact, this is very embarrassing for me to even write about on my blog.I felt like such a loser. Still do if you wanna know the truth.

Before I get to that I would like to tell you about the highlights of all my activities.Not that you really care...

The packages I am referring to are my wedding supplies I ordered from Vistaprints.

A closer look at our 'Thank You' cards. This is my second set of these cards since I used most of the ones we already had thanking my co-workers for all the lovely gifts we received.

I know you want to see a closer look at my new photobook which I received free so I figured I would try it out and see if it was any good. It is. Just a little small. (Aren't me and Matt cute babies??? I think we are both adorable! I am partial though.)

I love ordering from this company!I am always very satisfied with everything I get from them. Except for the mug I ordered a long time ago. It was WAY too small!

Took my wedding dress to be altered. I got a good feeling from the lady who will be doing it. The alterations have cost me $110.So my inexpensive dress is starting to get pricey. :(Dress $140Alterations $110Bra $ 50 $300I go in for a fitting on Tuesday and she should have the dress completely done on Thursday. I am very relieved!

Finally stopped at a certain thriftstore near my house that I have been eyeballing for months! They close at 5 which means I never make it there on time. Did notice they are open on Saturday.They had some good deals - cheaper then Goodwill!

The white bowl was $1.50, Scrabble was $2 (wanted the tiles) and the picture was $10 (you'll see soon enough why I bought this item).AND all items were an extra 50% off!Bargain!

I also got lots of good things at Target thanks to all the good coupons they currently have on their website. You should check it out and print them off! You will not be disappointed.

We are now back to talking about how my good day turned into a bad one....

After I sprayed a coat of paint onto my stuff I decided to go in the house to get some cleaning supplies to thoroughly clean my old refrigerator that I am trying to sell.I turned the knob.... it didn't move...I tried again... still wouldn't budge...I had evidently locked my door.Meaning I was locked out of the house.My keys were in the house.AWFUL!I didn't even have my phone to call anyone!I tried to break into my house myself but I was not successful after about 20 minutes of trying. I then went to my neighbor's house to see if he knew how to get into my house. He said yes. In the end, him, his neighbor and my other neighbor were all helping me get into my house. Couldn't do it.

Thankfully my neighbor (the first one I asked for help) let me use his cell phone to call someone to let me in. It even took the locksmith about 10 minutes to get in. He said doors usually open easily. Not mine.$95 later, I now know my door is very secure. Now if only I could do something about getting unbreakable windows...

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I am happy to report it seems over the weekend my veggies grew even more!They are starting to look so big now!

Above - (left to right) Zucchini, squash and tomatoesSee that big empty spot?Would you believe me if I told you I left it empty on purpose???

Above - (left to right) Tomatoes and green beans

I can hardly wait to actually pick veggies from my own garden!Although at this point I feel it would have been cheaper to buy them at the grocery store. At least next year it will be less upfront money since I will only need more seeds and dirt opposed to needing everything this year.

My grass is finally starting to come in a little fuller. This could be thanks to me laying more dirt and adding more seeds which you can tell by the different colored soil. Not so such how that happened...

I am going to give it another week to grow and if it doesn't I think I will go buy some sod. I hate looking at that bare spot! So U G L Y !It needs to be green and luscious!

----------------------------------------------------------------I couldn't help myself....I watched Sister Wives....You know, the show on TLC....The one where one guy is married to 4 women...

Yep, that one. I told myself I wouldn't, and then I did.

Something about it just sucks me in! I feel bad for Christina. Wonder why Janelle stays with him. Merri is a female dog with her snide comments. Robin is milking the spotlight. Kody is a horrible husband/father.I could go on, but I feel that sums up the entire episode.I wont lie to you... I'll probably continue to watch the series.Sometimes you can't help but watch the train wreck.

Monday, May 14, 2012

My dress has FINALLY gotten here!I will give the company credit, they had it shipped to my house FAST! Real fast!As in it just left China on Friday and arrived here today, Monday. Wow!I am assuming Fedex deserves more of the credit then TBDress though. Doesn't matter, either way it is here!That's all that counts at this point.

Since I knew I would be at work today when my package was scheduled to be delivered and it had to be signed for, I asked my neighbors if they would sign for it. They agreed. When I got home I went over there to get it. I couldn't wait to try it on.When I saw the package all I could think was how they must have delivered the wrong package. It was so small!Nope. It was my package.Had my name on it and everything!Look how small it was:

I put it next to a DVD so you can actually tell the size. I should have taken a picture of the box thickness (or lack of). Very thin. Maybe that is how it shipped so fast????When I opened the box here is what I saw:

They did package the dress nicely.It is a little wrinkled but that will be easy enough to fix.It is much longer then I was expecting. I could have went at least another 6 inches shorter.As you know, I can't show the full picture of the dress since Matt looks at my blog so this as good as it will get for now.

I am not sure if I am 100% in love with the dress....I am going to sleep on it.Maybe with some alterations I will like it more. It seems a bit too loose. My boobs sure seem to have more then enough room.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

In 17 days I will no longer be a Ms - I'll be a Mrs!17 days!Just barely over 2 weeks.

Can you believe it?I am very excited!I cannot believe how quickly it is coming along. Seems like it was yesterday when Matt asked me to marry him and then we called both our mothers to tell them the good news. Crazy to think how time has flown by this year.Thankfully we have most everything ready (at least the major stuff).We booked a location for the wedding and reception.We booked a photographer.We hired a pastor to marry us AND already did marriage counseling.We sent out invitations.We received our RSVPs back.We booked food.We ordered favors.We ordered decorations.We bought other decorations.We bought our wedding attire.We have a cake baker.Etc.

We (my mom and I) have picked out flowers, but need to order them after Mother's Day.We need to purchase accessories (Matt - dress shirt, shoes; Me - spanx, shoes).I need to figure out how to do my hair.Etc.I do have one snag in my wedding planning as of this moment. A big snag in my opinion.More of an annoyance.A pain in the a$$ is probably the best way to describe it.

My WEDDING DRESS that I ordered online needs to hurry up and get here! ASAP!I ordered it from TBDress. I do not recommend. It's going to take a lot for me to change my mind.I placed my order on April 14 around 11 PM. Due to the time of day, let's say day 1 was April 15.Heck, I'll be generous and say Monday, April 16 was day 1 since the 15th was on a Sunday.Today, is day 25.Per there website:

(Click the pictures to view larger images.)

I snipped these pictures directly from there website to show you how in two places they state how long it is suppose to take to make the dresses. (I paid a little more to have it customized to my measurements in hope that it wouldn't need to be tailored.)

Again, today is day 25 and that's with me being generous!I should be saying today is day 26.Did you notice it says calender days and not business days?I did.

This is what my order tracking information says when I log into my account.

On Sunday evening I emailed them wanting to know the status on my dress.I was told it was in the assessment stage."What is the assessment stage and when will it ship", I asked. I got a wishy washy answer saying it is now completed and is being inspected.They didn't answer my shipping question.I asked again. I am still waiting on that reply. It takes almost a full 24 hours for them to respond.

When I ordered my dress, the comments were good:Still are good.

I sure hope they send it out by Friday.Had I of known then what I know now, I wouldn't have bought from them.They are from China! I should have done my research before making my purchase. :(

Live and learn.Wish me luck.If it isn't here soon, I guess I'll go look for another dress and hope I can sell this one for the amount I paid.

This is a post about a dog named Toby (my parent's dog).Toby is an only child; actually, he is the only child in the house. An only child who thinks he doesn't get enough attention even though EVERYONE (and I mean everyone) pets him.

Picture Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh.Since he doesn't feel he gets enough attention he makes sure he is always around. And I mean ALWAYS!

He must think if he is around then he will be noticed.Doesn't matter where people are.... if they are somewhere, he is there.

You can't even go to the bathroom without him!

He's been doing this since we got him 10 or 11 years ago.

I finally decided to snap some pictures this past weekend as proof while I was babysitting him.

Pictures of him in the bathroom.

Yep, he even follows you to the bathroom.

You can't get privacy in his house!

Here's what happened...

I brought my clothes into the bathroom to take a shower and then walked out to do something. When I returned, this is what I saw:

He's so darn cute, yet pitiful at the same time!

This is where he lays whenever you are in the bathroom. Unless, of course, you make him get out which I am too much of a pushover for his cuteness to do that.

To be honest with you, I am surprised he stayed in here while I went to go get my camera. Usually he would have followed me. This is why no one has any pictures of him in here.

After snapping the above picture, I did what anyone in my position would do.

I took about 20 more!

I couldn't help myself!

He's looking up at me thinking, "Really? You are really taking MORE pictures of me?"

"Okay, if I look at you will you stop making that flash go off in my eyes?"

"Oh my goodness! Maybe if I roll my eyes you will stop. You can rub me though."

"Are you done yet? If you aren't going to rub my back I'm going to take a nap!"

"I'll give you one good picture and then will you stop?"

"Please put the camera away so I can sleep and guard the bathroom in peace!"

Monday, May 7, 2012

I have THE most thoughtful co-workers!I am lucky to have co-workers who I enjoy working with and who must (I assume) enjoy working with me.

Thursday, they had a surprise wedding shower for me.I was shocked! Stunned! Wasn't expecting it! Had no idea!

To be honest, I knew they would be doing something. Amazon.com spilled the beans. Shame on you Amazon.com!The company emailed me informing me items had been bought from my registry. When I clicked to see which ones, it even told me who bought them. Why would they do this??? It told me who bought them before the people who bought them even had a chance to give them to me. Amazon.com, if you are reading this, you should probably wait a week or two before emailing people and letting them know items had been purchased.Although I, the received liked knowing, I am sure the sneder/buyer would not be happy knowing this tid bit.

But besides knowing they were doing something, I had no idea when it would take place.I would have guessed they would have done something right before my vacation leave started.I later learned they had been planning this for three weeks. Everyone was concerned (he he he) that the lady who sits next to me would tell me. Another one of my friends who used to work with me but is now in a another department told me she didn't dare call or email me on this day in fear she, herself, would accidentally say something to me about the party.

I need to tell you how all this happened. I didn’t mean to jump ahead.

Thursday when I arrived at work everything seemed normal. I didn't notice anything or anyone suspicious. Maybe that just goes to show you how unobservant I really am. Didn't even see anyone carry in any presents! I also later learned most people brought there gift in ahead of time. Very slick!They also watched what I was doing all morning. When i took a phone call and was looking at my computer, they quickly pushed a cart by me with all the decorations on it. :)

That morning we got an email from our boss saying we had a meeting at 11:30 and she was sorry this was the only available time for the conference room. I should have known something was up. I don't think any managers schedule meetings during lunch hours. Maybe I am wrong.Usually during my lunch break me and a friend from another department go walking outside so I emailed her letting her know about the meeting and asked if she wanted to walk before or after it.She told me she wanted to walk before it. I agreed and we went. Never even asked me why we were have a meeting. And this is a person who would usually ask. Why didn't I see THAT sign?

While we were walking we saw one of my co-workers who yelled at my friend and told her to stop walking too fast and we should walk slower. I didn't think anything of this comment. Nor did I think anything about my friend ragging on me about my wedding registry items.

After our walk, when I got back to my office, no one was there. Really fast I changed out of my sneakers and rushed to the conference room since I was evidently late. Not really though since it was only 11:26.On my way there, one of my co-workers came and met me. She told me our boss sent her out to look for me since I wasn't there on time. Uh oh!When we got to the conference room she knocked and moved out of the way. I was still oblivious.The door opened and everyone yelled 'SURPRISE!'.

I was truly not expecting this!I was looked I looked stunned!LOL!

They had decorated the room, had a sash that said 'Bride To Be' and had me sit at the head of the table.I felt very important.I do get nervous/self conscious at these types of events.

(These are some of the decorations that were in the conference room.)

We played two games for three minutes each (we were on lunch so time was limited). One of my co-workers made a word search and word scramble game with things that related to me and Matt and us getting married. Such as our names, dog's names, where we were getting married, the month, etc. Very sweet!The person who had the most amount of words at the end of the three minutes got a prize. Next was present time!I was handed one present at a time and opened them in front of everyone.The lady who sits next to me wrote down what I received and who it was from.I'm going to write all the gifts we received more for my own records then for you. I really do plan on making a wedding scrapbook - I am not all talk on this one.

After presents we ate Subway sandwiches, chips, pound cake, and some sort of oatmeal brownie thing.Yum!Of course we sat around and did a lot of chit chatting!

My cubicle is now fully decorated with the items that were used for the party. They did have everything on the outside of it for everyone to see, but as of today, I have moved it into the inside. Too many people kept coming up to congratulate me and ask me questions. I don't like all the attention!

I brought all my gifts to Tennessee to show Matt over the weekend. We already wrote our thank you notes and most have been passed out! :)Need to stay ahead of the game if you know what I mean!

Even though they don't read my blog - A big THANK YOU to all my co-workers for a wonderful memory!I even got pictures on a CD from one of them. :)

About Me

Hi, my name is Jessica and I am married to my best friend, Matthew. We are mommy and daddy to our sweet 18 year old fur baby, Wyatt (who I have had since the 7th grade), and to a little guy inside my stomach who is expected to arrive on or around November 5th. We are excited to become first time parents to a human baby after so much practice with our fur baby and this blog is helping me document everything from trying to have a baby, to pregnancy, to him actually being here.
I enjoying cruising the Caribbean (will be a few years before our next one), reading and attempting to craft.